And now the fun begins for Arapahoe. Not that the Warriors haven’t enjoyed themselves to this point. They have. Entering Week 5, Arapahoe is a sparkling 4-0.
In fact, it began the season with three consecutive shutouts before allowing a touchdown and a safety last week against Overland. In 16 quarters, the Warriors have 15 goose eggs.
Coach Mike Campbell said he “kind of knew we could do this well early.”
No offense intended, but the Warriors’ foes — Rangeview, Palmer, Fossil Ridge and Overland — are a combined 3-13. But Arapahoe nearly tripped up last week, leading just 14-9 at halftime en route to a 27-9 victory.
“We weren’t listening, and we were distracted,” Campbell said. “We started thinking that we’re really good, that we were just going to kill Overland. I saw that and got a little agitated.”
Campbell, an imposing figure at 6-foot-7, had little trouble getting his point across in the locker room at halftime. He had less trouble this week getting his team ready for Heritage and the Brookridge Trophy, or Milk Can Game, at Littleton Public Schools Stadium, site of a former dairy farm.
“We’re playing a rivalry game that will bring us back to reality,” Campbell said. “We’re not good enough to be acting like that.”
Perhaps not, but the Warriors and Campbell realize that Phase II of their season is here. The gauntlet of the Big 6 League, Class 5A’s deepest group, is here. After Heritage, it’s high-enders Bear Creek, Columbine, Mullen and Chatfield.
The Warriors can cause headaches. Savvy quarterback Alec Gieser has thrown 11 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. Jose Cancanon has rushed for 349 yards. Five of Ethan Brunhofer’s 15 receptions have gone for scores.
Only four starters on offense are seniors; on defense, it’s three. And the Warriors line up in an unusual 3-3-5 alignment, a stacked group that includes five defensive backs. Michael Babb, Tyler Utsler and 6-foot-5 Tommy Saager, who didn’t play a year ago, are among the leaders on the back end.
Campbell credits assistant coach Ted Shantz for getting an influx of new talent to play well together.
“It’s tough in a week to get ready for us with a couple of game films and basically four practice days,” Campbell said. “And we run well for a bunch of white kids from the suburbs.”
In their best start since beginning 6-0 in 2005, Arapahoe is about to find out whether it’s a pretender or a contender in a 5A field that has openings.
Said Campbell: “Based on how we play, we’ll have a good idea. Are we a good team that will win one playoff game or three?”
Footnotes.
It’s difficult to shut out 1A Akron, but longtime nemesis Limon knows a little about it. The Badgers blanked the Rams 22-0 last weekend, the first time Akron has been held scoreless since the Badgers did so in the 2005 title game. . . . 4A Valor Christian moved up 26 spots to stand No. 8 nationally in the Freeman Poll on . . . . Only one tight end in NFL history has rushed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown, returned a kickoff and recorded a tackle in the same season. You know him: Oliver Edward “Bo” Scaife III, formerly of Mullen and now on injured reserve for Cincinnati.
